Environmental Ethics Reflection Paper
Jeff Sandoval
Dr. Brian Elliot
Environmental Ethics
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Reflection Paper
International concern over the health of our planet is constantly advocated and drilled in or heads by the media, our government, and the social institutions from which we are educated. We hear commercials persuading us to buy “green”, shop for locally grown produce, and even to invest in the more expensive, but environmentally friendly automobiles. Our government is also in on the green movement, shelling out billions of dollars to research greener technologies and giving tax incentives for citizens who buy more efficient products. Caring for the health of our environment seems to be a growing trend in the society we live in , almost more so now than 20 or even 10 years ago, and this upward swing has been changing public perception about human’s role in the health of our ecosystem. Just like public perception, my perception about the environment has been sculpted, and is constantly being sculpted, by a personal ethic grounded on education.
I was educated on the environment by living in Portland; therefore, my thinking was a product of my surroundings. I knew the world was going through an increase in temperature known as global warming, even though some skeptics deemed it to be a false phenomena. The change in global temperatures caused more frequent natural disasters and increased the sea level putting coastal communities and important coral reefs at mercy of destruction. Carbon dioxide gases released by industry and automobiles through combustion of fossil fuels are to blame for the increase in global temperatures, and the depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer. If the world is going through drastic changes threatening the survival of biodiversity, proven to be human caused, then it is our responsibility to fix what we have broken. International governments should fund the research for alternative forms of energy, give citizens tax breaks to buy greener
Dr. Brian Elliot
Environmental Ethics
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Reflection Paper
International concern over the health of our planet is constantly advocated and drilled in or heads by the media, our government, and the social institutions from which we are educated. We hear commercials persuading us to buy “green”, shop for locally grown produce, and even to invest in the more expensive, but environmentally friendly automobiles. Our government is also in on the green movement, shelling out billions of dollars to research greener technologies and giving tax incentives for citizens who buy more efficient products. Caring for the health of our environment seems to be a growing trend in the society we live in , almost more so now than 20 or even 10 years ago, and this upward swing has been changing public perception about human’s role in the health of our ecosystem. Just like public perception, my perception about the environment has been sculpted, and is constantly being sculpted, by a personal ethic grounded on education.
I was educated on the environment by living in Portland; therefore, my thinking was a product of my surroundings. I knew the world was going through an increase in temperature known as global warming, even though some skeptics deemed it to be a false phenomena. The change in global temperatures caused more frequent natural disasters and increased the sea level putting coastal communities and important coral reefs at mercy of destruction. Carbon dioxide gases released by industry and automobiles through combustion of fossil fuels are to blame for the increase in global temperatures, and the depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer. If the world is going through drastic changes threatening the survival of biodiversity, proven to be human caused, then it is our responsibility to fix what we have broken. International governments should fund the research for alternative forms of energy, give citizens tax breaks to buy greener